MATERNAL-FETAL MEDICINE The value of uterine artery Doppler and NT-proBNP levels in the second trimester to predict preeclampsia I ˙ brahim Uyar • Sefa Kurt • O ¨ mer Demirtas ¸ • Tutku Gurbuz • Onur Suleyman Aldemir • Buket Keser • Abdullah Tasyurt Received: 28 August 2014 / Accepted: 25 November 2014 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Abstract Objective To determine the maternal serum N-Terminal proBNP levels in predicting development of preeclampsia. Method Sixty-eight patients were included in the study. The study group consisted of patients with the finding of diastolic notch with abnormal pulsatility index (PI) between 21–24 weeks gestation and the control group consisted of patients without diastolic notch and normal PI. The study included high-risk patients who did not have a history of hypertensive disorder before pregnancy, heart failure, recurrent pregnancy loss, autoimmune disorder or diabetes. The groups were compared in terms of NT- ProBNP levels, development of preeclampsia, obstetric and neonatal problems. Results There was no significant difference between groups in terms of age, gravidity, parity, uric acid levels, and NT-proBNP levels. There was significant difference between the groups in terms of week of birth, rate of cesarean section and fetal weight. Furthermore, there were significant differences between the two groups when compared in terms of obstetric and neonatal problems (p \ 0.05). Obstetric and neonatal problems were more common in the notch with abnormal (PI) group. The NT- pro BNP levels were found to be comparable among groups. Preeclampsia was the most common obstetric problem (11.7 %). We were unable to document significant difference in patients who developed preeclampsia. Conclusion Bilateral notch together with abnormal PI measurements in the uterine artery Doppler screening during the second trimester was associated with poor perinatal outcomes. Such an association was not significant in the NT-proBNP measurements. Larger trials focused on late-onset preeclampsia are needed to draw definitive conclusions. Keywords NT-proBNP Á Uterine artery doppler Á Perinatal outcome Introduction Predicting obstetric conditions with high perinatal mor- bidity and mortality is one of the major target areas of perinatology. Insufficient placentation is associated with poor obstetric outcomes because of the impairment of uteroplacental circulation [1]. This impairment results in defective trophoblastic invasion, insufficient vascular response, preeclampsia, and fetal growth restriction [2, 3]. One of the most commonly used non-invasive tests to I ˙ . Uyar Á S. Kurt Á T. Gurbuz Á O. S. Aldemir Á B. Keser Á A. Tasyurt Ege (Aegean) Maternity and Gynecology Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey e-mail: iuyar@yahoo.com S. Kurt e-mail: sefakurt@gmail.com T. Gurbuz e-mail: tutkugurbuz@hotmail.com O. S. Aldemir e-mail: osatuana@yahoo.com B. Keser e-mail: drbuketkeser@hotmail.com A. Tasyurt e-mail: dr.abdullahtasyurt@gmail.com O ¨ . Demirtas ¸(&) Medical Faculty Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey e-mail: dromerdemirtas2@gmail.com 123 Arch Gynecol Obstet DOI 10.1007/s00404-014-3563-3